Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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237. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the libraries that will benefit from the €3.75 million investment announced on 9 November 2017; the amount provided to each library; the purpose for each grant award, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48475/17]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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238. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the libraries that have benefitted from the €2.7 million investment provided to date in 2017; the amount provided to each library; the purpose for each grant award, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48476/17]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 237 and 238 together.

In 2016, my Department launched a new Libraries Capital Investment Programme for the period 2016-2021. The programme was developed on the basis of priority proposals submitted by local authorities and will invest some €22m in infrastructural projects, mobile libraries and the introduction of the My Open Library service.  

Some €2.75m has been allocated in 2017 for projects on the Capital Programme. Details of these projects, their respective allocations and those expected to drawdown funding in 2017 are set out in table 1.  

Libraries Capital Investment Programme 2016-2021

Projects for 2017 drawdown are noted with *

Last week my Department announced additional capital funding of €3.75m for investment in the library service in 2017.  This will be matched by €1.25m from local authorities bringing the total additional investment to almost €5m. This funding will support the purchase and installation of self-service technology across the library network; book-stock to promote literacy for children under the Right to Read Programme; and hot-desk facilities for business people and job seekers under the Work Matters Programme.  

My Department does not have the details of the branches that will benefit from this funding.  This matter is left to the discretion of local authorities in accordance with the powers vested in them as library authorities under s.78 of the Local Government Act 2001.  However, details of the global amounts approved for each local authority are set out in table 2.